亞納憑甚麼當女先知 What Qualified Anna To Be A Prophetess

【見證系列（一）】
亞納憑甚麼當女先知 （路2:36-40）

離開埃及，過了紅海的第一代以色列人，已經沒有和天主交往四百多年，對雅威十分陌生。到了西乃山與天主立約時，「眾百姓看見打雷、打閃、吹角、冒煙的山，都戰兢害怕，遠遠站著，對梅瑟說：你同我們說話罷！我們定要聽從，不要天主同我們說話，免得我們死亡。」（出20:18-19）這位天主太可怕了，以色列百姓害怕聽到天主親自發言，天主惟有派先知作為祂的代言人。歷代的天主代言人，來自不同背景，有司祭：例如厄則克耳、有牧羊人：例如亞毛斯等等。天主藉著這些先知，在不同時代發言，針對時弊、宣告審判、指出上主的要求、應許和安慰等。可惜以色列是一個執拗的民族（申9:6），屢勸不改，以至遭受亡國的苦。所以在以色列履行先知職務，的確是一件苦差！

在古代作為女性，米黎盎（出15:20）和德波辣（民4:4），一個是梅瑟的姊姊，一個是民長，自有她們獨特的身份，作為女先知。但作為一個寡婦，亞納憑甚麼擔任先知的角色呢？近期在Netflix播放中的電影 Mary中的亞納，擁有一股神秘的權威，不可取！從《路加福音》的內容推算，我們大概可以估計到亞納的權威來自何方。假設她十四歲出閣，二十一歲守寡，八十四歲在聖殿，向一切希望耶路撒冷得救贖的人，講論出生滿四十天的耶穌（路2:38）。即是說，她在公元前六十三年，開始了她在聖殿事奉天主的歲月。要知道在古代醫學並未發達，五十歲可能已經是猶太人的人生大限。一個猶太人從十二歲開始，每年要到聖殿朝聖一次。見過亞納三十八次的人未必多。所以，當八十四歲高齡的亞納向群眾講論聖嬰耶穌的時候，聽眾怎可以不尊重！

親愛的兄弟姊妹，祝願大家在八十四歲時，還可以講論主耶穌基督的言行。亞孟。
天主保祐。

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生命恩泉
Picture Credit: wikipedia.com, creator.nightcafe.studio

[Witness Series: I]
What Qualified Anna To Be A Prophetess (Luke 2:36-40)

The first generation Israelites who fled Egypt and crossed the Red Sea had not walked with God for more than four hundred years. To them, Yahweh was an alien being. When they reached Mount Sinai to establish covenant with Him, “All the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the blast of the shofar and the mountain smoking, they became afraid and trembled. So they took up a position farther away and said to Moses, ‘You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, or we shall die.’” (Exodus 20:18-19) This God was too terrifying. The Israelites were afraid to hear God speak. Therefore, God chose prophets to be His spokespersons. Throughout the ages, God chose spokespersons from different backgrounds. There were priests, such as Ezekiel; shepherds such as Amos etc. Through them God spoke in different ages to reprimand, to announce judgment, to convey instructions, promises and consolations. Regrettably, Israel was a stiff-necked people (Deuteronomy 9:6). They refused to repent despite repeated exhortations. In the end, their kingdom was conquered and the people were exiled. It was a harsh mission to discharge the prophetic ministry in Israel!

As women in ancient times, Miriam (Exodus 15:20) and Deborah (Judges 4:4), the former was the elder sister of Moses and the latter a Judge, had their special identities to work as prophetesses. But as a widow, what qualified Anna to take up the role as a prophetess? Recently, Netflix shows the movie “Mary” in which the Anna possessed a mysterious authority. It is inappropriate. From the narratives of Luke, we are able to speculate where Anna’s authority came from. Assuming that she was married at 14, widowed at 21 and when she was 84-year old, she spoke about the 40-day old infant Jesus “to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem” (Luke 2:38). That is to say, since 63 B.C., Anna had started serving God in the Temple. Know that medical technology was still not advanced at that time, the life expectancy of Jews might be less than 50. A Jew was obliged to visit the Temple annually since twelve-year old. Not many of them would have seen Anna 38 times. Thus, when the 84-year-old Anna spoke about the Holy Infant to the crowd, how could they not respect!

Beloved brethren! I pray that when we are 84, we are still able to speak about the words and deeds of Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
God bless!